Sebastian Ridley-Thomas Wins 54th District Assembly Seat

By City News Service

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, one of Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas's 26-year-old twin sons, was elected to the Assembly on Tuesday, winning a special election in the 54th District with 60 percent of the vote.

Former Culver City Mayor Christopher Armenta was second in the field of three Democrats with 36 percent, followed by real estate broker John Jake, who had 4 percent, with all 168 precincts reporting, according to semi-official results released by the Secretary of State's Office.

Ridley-Thomas, an aide to Los Angeles Councilman Curren Price, supported expanding the abilities of small business to take advantage of local and state contracting opportunities to create jobs; apprentice programs to give the unemployed more skills; funding school health centers through public-private partnerships and reopening the Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital.

The district stretches from Westwood, Holmby Hills and Century City in the north to the Crenshaw district, Leimert Park and Jefferson Park in the south. It also includes Cheviot Hills, Palms, Mar Vista, Culver City, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights and View Park-Windsor Hills.

The special election was necessitated by the victory of then- Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell in the Sept. 17 special election to fill the 26th Senate District seat that was vacated by Price was he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council.